After leaving the bar, it was already evening by the time Hayashi stepped outside. It was not pitch-black like midnight, but the sun had already set.
"Figures. Time always flies when you are having fun. Has it really gotten this late already?" Thinking that, Hayashi yawned and began strolling along the street.
He could have used the Rabbit Talisman to teleport straight home, but the weather was nice today. After the rain, the air felt fresh and pleasantly humid. On top of that, he was in a pretty good mood, so taking a walk felt just right. Because of that, Hayashi decided to walk home.
But as he passed an intersection, he caught the scent of blood. Following the smell, Hayashi quickly turned into a narrow alley. Deep inside the alley, where the light could not reach, chewing sounds echoed from the darkness. Blood stained the ground, and the metallic stench in the air grew thicker and more pungent.
"Just an ordinary ghoul?" After taking a glance, Hayashi felt bored and raised his hand, ready to send it on its way. At that moment, the ghoul in the darkness noticed his presence and suddenly looked up.
"A human... a human actually wandered in here!" After a brief pause of surprise, excitement flashed across the ghoul's face. "Looks like I can finally eat my fill today. No more starving..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his words cut off abruptly. His head shattered in an instant. Brains and blood splattered everywhere, leaving the surrounding walls filthy.
"What a pain. How many times have I said it already? This place is my hunting ground." A tall blond figure stepped out of the darkness. Under the clear moonlight, his refined and clean-cut face was revealed.
The moment Hayashi saw him, he recognized him immediately: Nishiki Nishio. An S-rated ghoul known as Orochi, a former employee of Anteiku and a key combatant in the 20th Ward later on. After Rize disappeared, Nishio had claimed a feeding ground for himself. That much was straight out of the anime. In the original story, Kaneki had accidentally wandered into this territory and nearly been killed. If not for Touka's last-minute intervention, Kaneki would have most likely died there.
Hayashi had not expected that this time, the one who wandered in would be him. So he had unknowingly walked into this place after all? Thinking that, Hayashi actually felt a hint of interest.
"Huh? There is still someone alive here?" After noticing him, Nishio pushed up his glasses, clearly annoyed. "What a hassle. I am not even hungry right now. Just hurry up and die."
Hurry up and die? It had been a long time since anyone dared to provoke him like that. The corners of Hayashi's mouth curved upward slightly. Perfect. He had been feeling a little bored anyway.
[Ding! You have triggered a Time-Limited Mission: Nishio's Provocation]
[Objective: Defeat Nishio Nishiki]
[Reward: Random Skill Draw]
A mission? Hearing the familiar system notification in his head, Hayashi was not surprised. He glanced at the mission panel. So it was telling him to teach this arrogant senior a lesson. This time, there was no talisman reward, only a skill. It had been a long time since he last pulled a skill; hopefully, this one would be useful.
"Are you talking to me?" Coming back to his senses, Hayashi smiled faintly, looking calm and composed.
"Yeah. What, are you deaf?" Nishio kicked the headless ghoul corpse beside him. With a sharp sound, the body smashed into the wall, turning into a pile of mangled flesh. Drip. Drip. Blood trickled down the wall, gradually staining the ground red.
"Then I guess I did not hear wrong. You really are talking to me." Saying that, Hayashi walked straight toward him, a gentle smile on his face.
"What an infuriating bastard." Nishio adjusted his glasses again, impatience and killing intent flashing in his eyes. For some reason, just looking at that head of white hair made him irrationally angry. This guy was annoying just by existing. Why did he have to look so good? One look at him made Nishio want to beat him senseless.
"If this were any other day, I would have killed you already. I do not usually enjoy torturing my prey, but right now, I am really pissed off." After pushing up his glasses once more, Nishio leapt up from the ground. A blood-red kagune burst from his back and wrapped around his left leg before slamming down from midair.
The speed was terrifying, accompanied by a violent tearing sound through the air. Hayashi did not panic at all. He simply took a step back, narrowly avoiding the attack. The impact was so powerful that it cracked the ground, leaving behind a small crater.
"You are pretty quick, I will give you that." Nishio rolled his neck and joints, his scarlet kakugan flickering relentlessly.
"I just happened to study physical education for a few years. I am just an athlete, that is all." Hayashi shook his head, wearing a natural, lazy smile.
"Now I finally get why you are so damn irritating." Nishio adjusted his glasses, his crimson kagune extending further from his back. Eventually, it formed a massive shape resembling the tongue of a venomous snake. A powerful pressure radiated from it, thick with the stench of blood.
"So this is Orochi?" Seeing this, Hayashi let out a soft sound of interest. It certainly looked imposing. In terms of presence, it was not bad at all. But if he remembered correctly, Nishio was only around A-rated at this point. His actual strength left much to be desired.
"Annoying bastard. Die."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Nishio's kagune shot forward at blinding speed. Hayashi twisted his body and dodged the strike. The moment his feet touched the ground, a heavy punch came straight at him. With no room to evade, Hayashi crossed his arms in front of his chest and took it head-on, dispersing the force.
That was not the end of it. A right roundhouse kick followed immediately. Hayashi leaned aside, narrowly avoiding it. Nishio spun and launched a powerful front kick with his left leg. With a simple turn, Hayashi evaded that strike as well. The kick slammed into the wall behind him, cracking the supposedly solid surface.
"You are really pissing me off. Dodging around like a rat." The moment his words fell, the wall shattered, stones flying everywhere. Nishio brushed his hair back and exhaled hot breath. "No one has ever made me this angry. You are the first."
In the next second, his figure vanished from where he stood. When Hayashi reacted, several tearing sounds ripped through the air. The massive kagune slammed down violently, shattering the ground beneath it. With his hands in his pockets, Hayashi moved lightly through the chaos. Every strike came just short of hitting him, always missing by the smallest margin. Again and again, the blows failed to touch him even once.
"Die! Die! Die! Die!" Nishio had nearly lost his mind, his limbs flailing wildly. The bloodlust around him surged to its peak, his killing intent overflowing. If this had been an ordinary human body, a single graze would have torn it apart instantly.
Yet Hayashi remained unhurried, dodging at the precise instant before impact every time. The ground was completely destroyed, riddled with craters, not a single flat surface left. Even so, Hayashi was unharmed. Only the hem of his clothes was slightly dirty.
"Why? Why can I not kill you?" Nishio roared, his mental state completely shattered. Before this, even when facing powerful investigators, he had never felt such helplessness. No matter how hard he tried, he could not hurt the other party at all. Every time, it was just a little bit short. Always stuck at that unreachable limit.
At that moment, Nishio finally understood. It was not that Hayashi could only run away. He was playing with him. Toying with him. Treating him like entertainment. Realizing that, Nishio let out a desperate, furious roar.
Hayashi retreated backward, only to find a solid wall behind him. A crimson kagune stabbed down from above, while a fist tore through the air toward his face. In this situation, there was seemingly nowhere left to escape. For any investigator, as long as they were human, this would have been certain death. But Hayashi was not human.
"You might be curious why I kept dodging this whole time." Facing the attacks at point-blank range, staring straight at Nishio's distorted, rage-filled face, Hayashi slightly raised his head. A casual, almost playful smile appeared on his lips. "Because I am worried. I am afraid..."
The instant his words fell, the crimson kagune stabbing toward his face dispersed. The fist about to strike him shattered into fragments as if sliced apart.
"My arm... my kagune... what just happened?" Staring at his arm, Nishio spat out blood, his eyes filled with terror.
"I am afraid I cannot control my strength. I am afraid that if I am not careful, I will crush you outright, like crushing an ant." Hayashi grabbed him by the hair and yanked him forward. "Now do you understand? The reason I kept dodging is because you are too weak. Weak to a ridiculous degree. The gap between us is a chasm you can never cross."